Sutton man attacked ex-partner after kicking his way into her home

Clayton Ashford turned up at the woman’s home on Thornton Street, climbed over a gate into the back garden, and kicked a panel out of a UPVC door to crawl in, on June 11, 2018.

Prosecutor Leanne Townsend described how he dragged the woman around by the hair, pulling so hard her hair extension was ripped out, before grabbing her by the throat and lifting her physically off her feet.

Ashford banged her head against a cabinet, punched her in the kidneys, and continued hitting her in the head and face.

“She was screaming at him to stop,” said Ms Townsend.

“She suffered a series of injuries, bruising and injuries to her liver which required medical monitoring afterwards.

“He told officers he had been drinking all day and was very drunk and couldn’t remember some aspects of the incident.”

In a statement, the woman said she no longer shopped locally, in case she bumped into Ashford, and had become “obsessed” about checking windows and doors.

“I still don’t feel safe in my own home,” she said, requesting a restraining order “for as long as the court can possibly allow.”

The court heard the woman was unable to start a new job while she recovered from the attack and lost £450 of wages.

Chris Perry, mitigating, said Ashford had kept out of trouble for 20 years, and the victim had suffered “no lasting injuries to speak of.”

The court heard Ashford stamped on her £595 iphone, destroying it beyond repair, and caused £1,000 of damage to the back door.

Mr Perry said Ashford had already paid the woman £600 for the phone.

District judge Jonathan Taaffe said: “The staggering situation here is that I have got a complainant who is traumatised, this incident occurred on June 11, last year, he was interviewed, then nothing was put in place in terms of bail conditions.”

He said six or seven months had passed with no action from the police, and Ashford was only asked to attend court by a postal requisition on March 14, this year.

“If we are serious about domestic violence being dealt with then surely cases such as this have to be charged to court with appropriate bail conditions,” he said.

“This needs sorting. Time and time again, requisitions are coming before the court on domestic violence matters and it’s not acceptable because victims aren’t being protected.”

Ashford, 49, of Morley Street, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and two counts of criminal damage, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

Sentencing was adjourned until April 24, for a report by the probation service.

Ashford was bailed on condition he doesn’t contact his victim.